If one side doesn’t work on corner plays, try the other side.

That’s exactly what Northern Lehigh did Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 1A playoffs.

And the strategy worked to perfection.

The Bulldogs, seeded fourth, gained five penalty corners in the first 20 minutes of their contest against visiting Palisades but came up empty each time.

So, instead of initiating play from the goalie’s left side, Nolehi went to the right.

McKenzie Chruscial eventually found a rebound and cashed in with a goal to give the Bulldogs a lead. She added a second tally later in the period to lift Northern Lehigh to a 2-0 victory and a berth in the semifinals.

“One of my coaches on the sideline yelled, ‘Switch sides!’ and I said alright because the other side was not working,” said Chruscial, a senior. “We knew we had to change it up to try and get the ball in the goal, and it worked.”

According to Bulldog head coach Allison Chruscial, her team doesn’t prefer switching sides on corners.

But she knew it could be an asset at some point.

“We practiced both sides,” said Coach Chruscial. “(Tuesday) at practice, I said, ‘We’re going to the other side.’ They don’t love it, and they were like, ‘Why?’ I’m like, ‘We may have to use it.’ So today when we warmed up, we went to the other side ... and it worked. The timing was right on that.

“We lost to Palisades the first time we played them and I felt like we had a really good gameplan coming in to tonight. We weren’t the team we were when we played them the first time. The team that showed up tonight is who we are, and I’m thrilled. They stuck to the gameplan, trusted the process, they don’t give up and what more can I ask.”

That gameplan was to get more shots on goal and to put pressure on the goalie.

Early on, though, it was the Pirates who applied the pressure.

The visitors controlled play early, gaining two corners.

But as time went on, the Bulldogs started to tilt the field.

Three and a half minutes after her first tally, the head coach’s daughter got on the board again to make it 2-0.

And once again, it came off a corner and a loose ball after a shot.

“My teammates had really good shots on goal and I was just there to tap it in,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to score without them.”

“Somebody has to make it happen,” said the elder Chrsucial. “Look, we go to her. She’s the most experienced on the team in terms of the sport. She plays offseason, and she carries a lot of weight on her shoulders. Sometimes when things aren’t happening, the team — including myself — really look to her to make something happen.

“And her and Lexi (Heffelfinger) today put it together and they made it happen. And it’s what made the difference in tonight’s outcome.”

Palisades, with its season on the line, came out strong in the second half hoping to get in the contest.

“I told the girls we needed to beat them to the ball,” said Pirate mentor Tammy Labant. “They were beating us to the ball. We had opportunities. We just needed to make something happen ... (Early on) we just couldn’t stop their corners.”

The Bulldogs weathered the second-half storm by Palisades, which outshot Nolehi 6-2 over the final two quarters.

Having an experienced senior at the back end helps in those situations, and that’s what Gracie Frederick supplies.

“She’s phenomenal,” said Coach Chruscial. “I think in the past three years, and obviously this year she’s playing her best, she has been a consistent force defensively. And this year she just took off. At the end here when we were gassed, she just kept that pressure and it mattered.

“(Palisades) battled, and I knew they would. We kept telling the girls, ‘They’re going to keep coming at you. They’re not going to give up, because that’s what playoffs are all about.’

“We knew that they were going to keep pressuring, and I thought our defense did a good job containing. They really did.”

SHUTOUT ... The shutout was the seventh of the season for the Bulldogs, with goalie Madilyn Husack recording 10 saves.

UP NEXT ... Northern Lehigh faces Northwestern in the semifinals on Monday. The Tigers have won all three contest between the teams this season by a combined score of 11-0.

No. Lehigh 2, Palisades 0

Palisades 0 0 0 0 - 0

No. Lehigh 0 2 0 0 - 2

Goals: Palisades - None; No. Lehigh - McKenzie Chruscial 2; Assists: Palisades - None; No. Lehigh - Alexia Heffelfinger 2; Shots: Palisades 13, No. Lehigh 16; Corners: Palisades 7, No. Lehigh 8; Saves: Palisades - Ava Cron 4, No. Lehigh - Madilyn Husack 10.

Records: Palisades (7-12-1); No. Lehigh (10-9).